Road to Bemini
by MissTooni
Summary: The funny thing about adventure is that once you get a taste of it, you always want more... The first in a series of the continuing adventures of Miguel and Tulio, set post-El Dorado.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Spain, May 1521

The funny thing about adventure is that once you get a taste of it, you always want more. Bigger and better than the last. Well, that was the case for me, anyway. Tulio, I'm sure, had had enough adventure for one lifetime. Of course, whenever fortune was concerned, I knew there was some leeway to persuade him.

"Have you heard the stories about Ponce de Léon?" I plucked at the strings on my mandolin and looked nonchalantly at my partner in crime, but he was wise to my game.

"Whoa whoa whoa, let me just stop you right there. Have you learned _nothing_ about what happens when we get involved with conquistadors? When you fantasize about... about _**ridiculous**_ adventures?" I didn't even need to look up to sense the glare he was giving me.

"But Tulio! They're saying he may actually have found the location of the fabled fountain of youth!" I couldn't help it, I was terrible at hiding my emotions, especially excitement.

"The fountain... of youth. Really. After all we've been through, you expect me to believe there's a fountain of youth?"

"After all we've been through, how can you _not_ believe it?" I retorted, setting down my mandolin and giving him an anxious, pleading look.

"Nope. Nooooo. No." Tulio crossed his arms and turned his back, "I'm not doing this again."

I blew the few stray bangs out of my face and shrugged, "Alright. And what's your plan? Drift around Spain running the same scam until we get caught?"

"Yes. Exactly. It's worked for us so far, and you shouldn't mess with a good thing, it never turns out well." He glared at me again, his eyes clearly saying _Don't you even think about it._

I sighed, "Don't you ever get bored of the same old routine? Dream of doing something else, going somewhere else?" I smiled, daydreaming. He gave me a serious look and for a moment I saw that same spark, same longing for adventure in his blue eyes, but then he sighed and just like that it was snuffed out.

"Miguel, with you around, things are never boring." Tulio ran a hand through his hair, a little bit annoyed but still slightly amused, "As for me... I dream of living like a king, in the lap of luxury, and that is _not_ going to happen if you keep sending us on ridiculous... _quests_ that almost get us killed."

"Well, it's not going to happen if we keep running the same con over and over, either." I snapped back, smirking. He opened his mouth but couldn't think of a comeback, so he just pointed a stern finger at me.

"For once, can you just _try_ not to get caught up in fairy tales and just follow my lead? C'mon... we've got suckers to scam." He stood up, patting his pockets to make sure he had his dice. Sighing, I grabbed my mandolin and followed him out onto the street. We headed toward the usual alley, weaving our way through the crowded streets. There was a good deal of shouting and laughing, and the smell of fresh baked bread and fish were mingling in the air. When the crowds started to thin a bit and I had enough elbow room, I started playing some flourishes on my mandolin to drum up excitement.

Tulio started his routine, challenging anyone to best his luck. A few people stopped for a moment, as if calculating the risk, but thought better of it and kept on walking. After a while, a brash-looking man - muscular, but obviously lacking in brains - stepped forward with a hearty laugh and Tulio couldn't help but grin.

"I'll wager this gold ring against whatever you're offering." the man said, sounding a little inebriated. It was a little early to be drinking, but it was probably lucky for us. Tulio didn't even bother to pull out any money.

"That sounds fair." Tulio nodded, shaking the man's hand as a sign of good sportsmanship to distract him. He pulled his dice from his vest. "Alright, place your bet."

"Snake eyes." the man said, "Two's m'lucky number, never steered me wrong before." he chuckled, and so did Tulio.

"Alright then, I call seven. Would you care to do the honors?" he asked the man, knowing it wouldn't matter who rolled the dice.

"No no, you go ahead." the man laughed. Tulio rolled and, as expected, the dice came up two and five. The man sighed, paid up, and retreated back into the crowd.

"Anyone else?" my partner asked, scanning the crowd.

A brunette woman, hair done up in a bun and skirts hiked up on one side with a sash stepped out. She approached Tulio and made eye contact, leaning on one knee. On her face she wore a sly smirk as well as an eyepatch over her left eye. Her pose exposed a great deal of her right leg, and a clearly visible dagger was strapped to it. This woman did not look like someone we should mess with. A shorter, blonde and neatly-dressed woman with spectacles pushed through the crowd behind her, looking far more skeptical than her companion. She tugged at the other woman's sleeve and hissed something that sounded like "We don't have time for this...", but the taller woman just laughed and waved her off. She crossed her arms and frowned, taking a step back and looking Tulio and eye up and down. I saw Tulio gulp, almost imperceptibly, when he noticed the blade on the brunette's leg, but he forced his eyes to look at her face, smiling sheepishly.

"Welcome, Señoras!" he nodded at each of them in turn and cocked his head to the side, going for that roguishly charming look, "What brings you by?" he inched away ever-so-slightly and the taller woman noticed. She stood up and placed her hands on her hips.

"I'm interested in your 'game of chance'." she said, "What are you offering if I win?"

I leaned in closer to Tulio, still strumming away, and whispered, "I think they're onto us, what's the plan?" He pushed my head away and smiled back at her, arrogance and the need to impress the woman overtaking his usual sense of caution.

"Well, today just happens to be your lucky day, because-" Before he could finish the sentence, there was a commotion down the street and the crowd started to part.

"Over there!" someone shouted and pointed in our direction as a trio of armed guards pushed their way through the crowd. Both women quickly jumped up and faded into the crowd, looking spooked by the guards. I looked to Tulio for direction, but he didn't look as concerned as I thought he'd be. We hadn't been in town that long, maybe he thought they had no cause to arrest us.

"If you're looking for those suspicious women, you just missed them." He said, getting to his feet and studying his fingernails. I tried to nudge him as the guard pulled out a folded up piece of parchment, but he ignored me.

"These are the ones. Theft, fraud, tax evasion..." he started reading off a list of charges written on what I could faintly make out as our wanted poster. We'd been made, so why was Tulio so calm?

"You're a crook?" he turned to me, looking aghast. I really didn't think the routine would work this time, but I played along anyway.

"Of course not! Clearly this is a case of mistaken identity!" I grabbed the parchment from the guard, scraping my finger along it to leave marks that made it look like the both of us had scars, "I'm much more handsome than that!" I scoffed, shoving it back into the guard's chest with mock disdain. He was taken aback long enough that he had to do a double take, and that's when Tulio grabbed me by the arm and took off running.

We wove our way into the crowd, giving ourselves enough of a head-start to mostly lose them. Down a winding alley, up a stone staircase, through a doorway or two, it didn't take us long to get them off of our trail. I caught enough of a glimpse to see them splitting up to look for us, but we continued to run, using the less visible byways to stay unnoticed. I was about to run through another doorway, not noticing the guard about to pass by, when Tulio grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and clapped a hand over my mouth, keeping both of us out of sight. It seemed to take forever for him to pass by, and we both held our breath, sure he'd find us, but eventually he left to regroup with the snuck away and quietly made our way back to our hideout.

"Okay, that was _way_ too close" Tulio said once we were safely inside, gasping for breath.

"Why didn't you run the second you saw them coming?" I asked.

"So I made a bad call and it didn't pan out, we got away, didn't we?" he threw up his hands, clearly more frustrated with himself than I was.

"That's true, but now they'll have guards looking for us all over the city. Can we afford to lie low anymore?" I turned to Tulio, but he was already ahead of me, rummaging through our things.

"That depends... how long can you go without food?" he scratched his chin, frowning.

"Why? How much do we have?" Tulio held up half a loaf of bread, a partially eaten _salame,_ and a piece of manchego. I felt my jaw drop, "That's it? Between the two of us, that'll only last..."

"Maybe two and a half days if we ration it." He answered, "We've gotta get out of town before they find us. And before we starve to death." He may have been exaggerating a little, but he was right. We knew a handful of people who _might_ be willing to hide and feed us, but the longer we stuck around the more likely we were to wind up rotting in prison - or worse.

"Well..." I started slowly, testing the waters, "I know of a way we can get far out of town fast, and make a few pesetas..." I smiled.

Tulio turned around slowly, not wanting to even indulge me, but for once he apparently didn't have a plan. "Miguel, if this is going where i think it's going, so help me-"

"They're sending another fleet of ships in a few days. We can take jobs, go to Bemini... mmmmaybe search for the fountain of youth?"

"Do you hear yourself?! Do you know how crazy you sound?! Miguel..." He put a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to anchor me, his eyes tired and unamused, "The reason we became con men is so we wouldn't have to do honest work. And I, for one, have no desire to spend any more time on boats. I _like_ land. So please... _**please**_... stop with this fountain of youth nonsense."

"Well, I don't see you coming up with any better ideas!" I threw my hands up, pulling away, "C'mon, Tulio, where's your sense of adventure?" I smiled, this time putting my hand on his shoulder and giving him almost puppy eyes as I searched his face for that spark I'd seen earlier. He pushed my hand away.

"I _cannot_ _ **believe**_ you're serious about this." He said, sitting down and burying his face in his hands. If he was trying this hard to come up with an alternative, I must have been wearing him down, "Playing a god wasn't good enough for you? You need this fountain of youth, too?"

"What if it exists? Do you really want to pass up that chance? Just think of how rich we'd be if we found it. People would pay through the nose for just a _taste_ of something like that!" I could see Tulio losing himself a little, thinking about all that money. When he snapped back to reality, he seemed to be weighing his options.

"Alright... if I can't come up with a better plan before that ship leaves..." He sighed heavily and hesitated for a long, long time. "Then and _only_ then will we go along with your ridiculous idea."

"Shake on it." I nodded, intending to hold Tulio to that promise since I so rarely had the chance. He scowled, but obliged me in our traditional secret handshake.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

At Sea, May, 1521

I should never have agreed to it. I should've known better. I'd had no doubt I'd be able to come up with something, anything better than Miguel's stupid plan that I hadn't even considered it a legitimate idea. But two days of pacing and banging my head against the wall and groaning in frustration achieved nothing, so there I stood, satchel slung over my shoulder, staring at the vessel that would be my prison for the next month or so.

Miguel looked entirely too pleased with himself. I know he disliked being at sea just as much as I did, but that insane sense of adventure of his apparently overpowered all rational thought. "You do realize we're going to be stuck in a confined space with a bunch of smelly, unsavory sailors - more than a few of whom we've probably conned in the past - doing grueling manual labor?" I turned to him with one of the most contemptuous looks I'd ever given him.

Miguel just smiled and shrugged, "It'll be exciting! Besides they're feeding us _and_ paying us, you can't complain about that!" As usual, he was being incredibly shortsighted. I knew he'd be just as miserable as I was. It was only a matter of time.

"Oh, believe me, I'll complain until my feet are back on solid ground." I said as we started to board the ship. "Me and ships are a bad combination. Not simpatico. _**Way**_ no bueno." Miguel rolled his eyes and shook his head with a chuckle before giving me a slight shove to keep me moving.

The ship was crowded, but not as crowded as I'd expected. There were supposed to be around two-hundred people on board, but a lot of the crew had split off into groups. There were seasoned sailors shooting the breeze, some saltier seadogs snapping at some of the younger men who were getting in their way, and some more well-dressed people looking over sea charts at the front of the ship - probably the navigator, the captain, and his mates. Not particularly wanting to socialize with any of these people, I turned to Miguel but he was gone.

"Miguel? Miguel!" I tried to call out for him, but I doubt if he could have heard me over all the noise, "Great." I scowled, pushing my way through the throng to look for him. Even docked, the boat rocked faintly with the people moving around and my stomach started to churn. I paused for a moment to get my bearings, and then I saw him leaning on the side of the boat, staring out to sea. "There you are!" I hissed, trudging over to him. He smiled back at me, "From now on, stay where I can see you." I glared, having none of 'the face.'

"But Tulio-"

"Ah ah ah, no." I held up my hands to stop him, "I am not going to argue with you about this. You get into trouble when you go off on your own."

"Oh, like you don't!" he retorted, raising an eyebrow. I frowned and looked off to the side.

"The point is, we're partners. We need to stick together, okay?" I turned to him, staring straight into his overly-curious green eyes, "That's the plan. That's what works. No buts." I shoved my finger in his face as he was about to object.

"Alright, got it." he shook his head with a silent _You worry too much._ Just then, a loud voice boomed over the crowd.

"Alright, men! We're about to shove off, so get to your posts! If this is your maiden voyage, Señor Ruiz will show you to your quarters and assign you your duties." The captain's voice had hushed everyone on the ship. At his words, a large and surly looking man stood up.

"Follow me." said the man, who was apparently Señor Ruiz. A handful of men, Miguel and myself included, shuffled after him toward some stairs at the front of the ship. "This is the forecastle." He spoke as we walked through a large common area, "You'll all be staying on this deck." He paused, giving us some time to take in our surroundings. The room was pretty spacious, with wooden support beams distributed evenly throughout. It was just one big room, like a hostel or something. I guess there wasn't any privacy on a ship like this. After a while, Señor Ruiz started going around and assigning work. He was still on the far side of the room from Miguel and me, so we started to talk amongst ourselves.

"Some 'quarters'," I groaned, "There are zero walls between us and a bunch of sailors with questionable hygiene. Who probably snore."

"Well, it's better than the brig on Cortez's ship." Miguel, ever the optimist, tried to put a positive spin on the situation.

"Of course it is, but that's not the point!" I said, gesturing to the other sailors, "The point is-"

"You two." Señor Ruiz' voice was much closer than I'd expected. He looked down at us and I noticed a scar across his nose and several piercings in his right ear. I did my best to smile back and make eye contact. He lifted up my arm and examined it. "You two look like you haven't worked a day in your whole lives." he said, hitting the nail on the head. "Kitchen duty for the both of you." He said, pointing his thumb toward a hallway on the far end of the deck. I nodded in response and Miguel followed suit.

"Alright. We'll just... go to the kitchen, then." I said, motioning for Miguel to follow me. We headed down to the door and poked our heads in only to be greeted by a short and exuberant man.

"You two are here to help?" he asked, staring up at us. It was a bit unnerving. We slowly nodded, "Well, don't just stand there! Get to peeling!" He gestured - with a knife, I noticed - to a corner filled with barrels of vegetables. He handed me the knife in his hand and grabbed another for Miguel. We obediently retreated to the corner and began peeling vegetables.

Who knew how many hours later, my fingers were raw as I sat huddled in the corner, still peeling and making conversation with Miguel.

"Look, I'm sorry, I don't know what I said, but I didn't mean to make you _**cry**_!" he gave me a concerned look.

"It's not you, it's the onions." I sniffled, and rubbed at my burning eyes before realizing it was a very very bad idea. "Gaah!" I winced, dropping my knife and just sitting there, whimpering and repeatedly blinking until my tears flushed out the burning sensation. Miguel stopped what he was doing and hovered over my shoulder, unsure of what to do.

"Are you... alright?" he asked with a frown.

"Does it look like I'm alright?!" I snapped, and he backed off, "Why did we have to get the worst jobs on this stupid ship..." I muttered to myself.

"I don't think they're the _worst_ jobs..." Miguel chimed in, a little hesitantly, "I mean, they could have us cleaning up-"

"Stop. I don't want to think about that." I cut him off. Just then, the cook called out at us.

"How you boys doing back there? It's almost time to eat." Despite my slight queasiness, the mention of food and getting to eat said food was enough to buoy my spirits. The same went for Miguel, and he hopped up and offered me a hand to pull myself up as I was still squinting pain and tears out of my eyes.

The dining hall was loud and crowded, but the food wasn't as bad as I'd expected. There was no meat, so it wasn't all that filling, but the vegetables Miguel and I had peeled earlier were enough to hit the spot. There was wine, too, and while it had been fairly watered down it helped to settle my stomach some. Miguel still managed to get a little tipsy on the wine, and spent a good portion of dinner yammering away about El Dorado and the two of us being gods. I was more than a little embarrassed, but the men around us seemed to get a kick out of it and egged him on, which caused his stories to get even wilder and more ridiculous.

After dinner, some of the sailors started up with some sea shanties and Miguel got out his mandolin - I still have no idea where he was keeping it - and accompanied them. A little jealous that Miguel had so quickly become the center of attention, but also wanting nothing to do with the men he was talking to, I sat back, arms crossed and scowling. I wanted to keep an eye on Miguel, though. There was no telling what would set off a drunk sailor and start a fight. And so I sat there staring at him for a good half hour until a sailor slapped me on the back and urged me to join the circle. Everyone took turns singing and talking, telling stories about previous voyages or tall tales about fish - and some whales - that got away. At some point I must have fallen asleep on Miguel's shoulder, because some time later he was nudging me awake.

"Tulio, c'mon, you don't want to sleep here, do you?" he asked as I groaned and stretched. We made our way back to the crew quarters to sleep, but I didn't actually sleep much that first night. Between the snoring, the cold, and the combined smell of the sea and the sailors, I spent the whole night tossing and turning and shivering.

The days passed much like the first one, though the calluses made peeling vegetables less painful over time. Every night after dinner the sailors would get together to sing and talk, and once everyone started getting to know each other, I started challenging some of them to games of craps. None of the sailors had much money, so we'd mostly wager food or odd knick-knacks, but it was a good way to pass the time and thanks to my dice I would always win. If the other sailors were wise to me, they didn't care or let on. Even sleeping got easier with time, I was eventually able to tune out the sounds and smells. The cold still got to me, though.

I'd lost track of how many days we'd been at sea, but we must have been nearing our destination. Many of the crew had cabin fever and Miguel was no exception. He would pace back and forth like an impatient child while we were supposed to be working, babbling on about the fountain of youth. I would occasionally remind him that he was supposed to be peeling, but most of the time I nodded and pretended I was listening. I really shouldn't have indulged him, though. That day, a bit before the usual call for dinner, the cook came back looking troubled.

"Captain said all hands on deck. I don't like the sound of it." He motioned with his head for us to come with him and Miguel and I followed him up to the deck. I immediately frowned when I saw the storm clouds forming overhead.

"There's a storm brewing, and it doesn't look good. We've set a course to avoid the worst of it, but you'd all be wise to brace yourselves for rough sailing ahead." the captain boomed, his voice reaching even the back of the deck.

As if in response to his warning, a strong wind whipped up and a thick fog set in. All the sailors began to voice their confusion. While I could still see, I grabbed onto the sleeve of Miguel's shirt. The fog seemed to get... brighter, like an intensely blinding light, and the wind sped up only to be joined by a high-pitched noise that left my ears ringing.

"What's happening?" I could barely make out Miguel's voice even though he was right next to me.

"I don't know!" I yelled back, my own voice sounding very far away. Suddenly, there was a deafening roar, distinctly different from the sounds of the wind and the sea. The ship shook, and then I felt my stomach lurch and knot as everything seemed to lift into the air. I tugged on Miguel's sleeve to make sure he was still there and a second later he was clinging to me as the wind - or some unnatural force - started to spin everything violently until I didn't know which direction was which anymore. This was it. We were definitely going to die. This crazy wind was going to rip us apart, miles away from home, and I was going to die penniless. That was my last thought before I lost consciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Location Unknown, June 1521

Whatever was at the heart of that storm, it hadn't been natural. It had sounded like some kind of terrible creature. It had actually almost reminded me of the stone jaguar from El Dorado. Between the fierce winds and the blinding light, it had been nearly impossible to see, but I felt as though I caught a glimpse of giant, segmented arms reaching out from the center of the eye of the storm and rows and rows of teeth that gleamed like steel in the light. The same force that had lifted us and the ship into the air seemed to reverse direction, as if dragging us down. Tulio was already unconscious and I was fighting with every ounce of will not to follow, but in the end it was futile. A pang of guilt coursed through me, knowing we wouldn't even be here had I not got caught up in tales of fantasy. Tulio hadn't even wanted to come.

"I'm sorry..." I said, knowing he couldn't hear me but needing to say it anyway. My eyelids were getting heavier and I felt my hand slip, letting go of him as well as my awareness.

Everything was white when I opened my eyes. Not blinding like the light from before, though, more of a dull white. I waited for my other senses to kick in, wondering if this was death or if I'd survived by some miracle. I was able to move my arm and I felt something next to me. It was cloth, and as I felt around a bit more I realized it was an arm. An arm with a pulse. I sat up, slowly and achingly, pushing the fogginess from my head as my vision adjusted and I realized the body next to me was Tulio.

"Tulio? Tulio?!" I shoved his shoulder and slapped him in the face, hoping to wake him. He barely moved, but I heard a soft groan so I shook him some more.

"Just one more..." he mumbled in his sleep, dreaming. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding and just sat there, waiting for him to come to. As the fog dissipated further, I could see just how badly the storm had weathered us. Our clothes were tattered, our arms and faces covered in scratches from the fierce winds. Tulio's left side was bruised, probably from falling whenever that unnatural force had dropped us. After a few minutes he stretched and sat up, slowly opening his eyes. "Miguel?" he asked, evidently aware of my presence, "Where are we?"

"I have no idea..." I said, "But as far as I can tell, we aren't dead."

"Does it really matter? We have no food, no water, no knowledge at all of our surroundings... we might as well be dead." As he was regaining his senses, his pessimism was also coming back full force.

"C'mon, we've gotten out of worse scrapes than this!" I said, but I actually wasn't that sure I believed it.

"Miguel..." Tulio looked very tired, "For once, can't you just face the facts? This is the end of the road. We're not going to just stumble across some miracle."

"Maybe not, but I'm not just giving up like that. Maybe we can find something to eat, look for any signs of life..." I had to be hopeful for the both of us, because I knew there was no way of convincing Tulio when he got like this. I gingerly sat up, moving my joints slowly to make sure everything worked properly. Tulio rolled his eyes, but attempted to stand up himself. He made it most of the way up before stumbling.

"Ow..." he hissed, having fallen on a bruise, "You may actually have a point, it's already a miracle that storm didn't kill us." Even if it was sarcasm, I was glad to hear that he was able to make jokes.

"C'mon, then..." I said, giving him a hand up, "Think you can walk?" He hobbled a bit, trying to get his legs used to moving again.

"Yeah... should be okay... So, smart guy, what's the plan?" He put his hands on his hips and did a full scan of the area while waiting for an answer.

" _Me?_ I don't know, _you're_ the one with all the plans." I shrugged.

"Ohhhh no. You got us into this, now you're going to get us out. I'm holding you responsible." he shook his head, "So what's the plan?"

"I don't know, umm..." I looked around. We were on a beach, as evidenced by the sand and the ocean. It stretched out further than I could see on both sides, but opposite the ocean was a canopy of trees. Strange trees, too. Their roots extended well above ground - although the ground appeared to be pretty watery, a little like mud - before forming bushy trees. "How about we look around in there?" I gestured toward the grove with my thumb.

"Alright." Tulio nodded curtly. I got the sense that he was critically judging my every suggestion, "Lead the way." I was so used to following him around, but I started walking, going in between two of the trees. Almost as soon as I'd stepped into the tropical swamp, I started to hear animal noises. At least three different bird calls, the scurrying of rodents and lizards, and the occasional croak of frogs.

"Well, it's easier to see in here than on the beach, at least..." I said, looking back to make sure Tulio was following me. He stepped carefully, not wanting to get too deep into the swamp water - not that I could blame him.

"It's also easier to get lost in here..." he said. He had a point. The trees formed a natural maze, the swampy paths between them weaving back and forth.

"Let's keep going. If we don't find anything soon, we can turn around and head back to the beach. Alright?" I said, pressing on ahead. The path kept on twisting, and the further in we went the more wildlife we started to see. Colorful birds fluttered overhead, and colorful frogs and lizards crawled and hopped underfoot. Everything was lush and bright and I couldn't help but stop to take everything in.

"Miguel? We're not going to find any food just standing here..." Tulio sounded impatient.

"Oh, right. Sorry." I nodded, continuing on. I had a sudden burst of energy, so I picked up the pace, eyes focused ahead of me as I walked until I felt a hand yank me back by the shoulder.

"Stop. Don't. Move." Tulio said, very quietly. I looked back at him, confused, and followed his wide eyes to a snake on the path. It was big, probably half as tall as me, and a grayish-brown color with a pale yellow belly. It was sitting up like it was about to strike. We both held very still, hoping it would just go away. It stared back, as if challenging us to try moving. It evidently got bored of that, though, because after a few moments it suddenly jumped.

Tulio pushed me down and out of the way, trying to jump away himself, but the snake caught him on the ankle. His yell was the most pained sound I'd ever heard from him, and I was terrified. No sooner had he been attacked than he collapsed in the mud next to me and the snake slithered away. I was only stunned for a moment.

"Tulio?! Oh my god, Tulio..." he was writhing in pain and I caught a glimpse of blood trickling down his leg. He was panting, he looked terrible.

"Miguel... I can't move my legs..." his voice was panicked. He tried to crawl out of the water, nearly dragging himself.

"Stop. Stop it, you're only going to make it worse!" I said, grabbing his arm. "You... you pushed me out of the way... That would have been me..."

"I didn't even think about it." he shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut and screaming again.

"We've got to get out of here... we've got to find help..." I was breathing nervously. I grabbed Tulio under the arms and dragged him out of the mud, "Keep your weight off your foot..." I said as I propped him up on my shoulder. He winced at every slight movement. "Alright, this isn't going to work... get on my back..." I knelt down. The pain must have been awful because he practically fell on me. I wrapped my arms under his legs and started walking, his head lolling over my shoulder. "Stay awake." I urged, "Whatever happens, however bad it hurts, just stay awake. Talk to me, Tulio..."

"Do you think there's gold in hell...?" Tulio asked, delirious. Everything about the question upset me, but I put up a brave front.

"You're a god, remember? You'll never find out..." I grunted. He was heavier than he looked. There had to be someone, anyone who could help us. I pleaded with gods I didn't even believe in, my dearest friend was not going to die like this.

"I'm sorry... about..." he trailed off and I realized he'd gone unconscious. I didn't really know anything about snake bites, but I was fairly certain that was _not_ a good sign.

"Somebody! Anybody! Help!" I shouted, moving as quickly as my legs would carry me. Suddenly, there was a rustling nearby and a figure stepped out from the bushes. He was a tall man with an athletic build and skin the color of clay. His eyes fell on Tulio and widened with obvious concern. He motioned for me to follow him. I had a faint feeling of deja vu.

He led me to a clearing, and as we got closer I could see tents and more people. They gathered around us when they saw Tulio, but kept a safe distance. "Please... help..." I said, unsure if they even understood me, "He was bitten by a snake, I think he's..." my voice broke, even thinking about forming the word was too much. I collapsed to my knees. A few woman approached me and gingerly took Tulio. They said nothing, but their expressions were sympathetic and I trusted that they were going to help. An older man came out of one of the tents and the women spoke to him in words I couldn't understand. They pointed at me, and he approached.

"He is your friend?" the man asked, and I could understand him perfectly. I nodded.

"Please, say there's a way to help him..." I pleaded. The older man looked down with a sigh. I was crestfallen, but then he made eye contact with a stern but not unkind gaze.

"Your friend is beyond most methods of healing. I can do nothing for him now, but if you were to bring me some things from around the island... there may be hope." he said.

"Anything. Whatever it takes, if it'll save him..." I was devastated, but I was willing to cling to whatever hope existed.

"I will send one of our men with you." He motioned forward the man who had led me to the village, "You will need to find the roots from several different trees..." The healer began to give me detailed instructions on exactly what I needed to retrieve. He gave me a leather pouch on a rope and I hung it around my neck. The villagers offered me some food and I ate quickly before venturing back out into the trees with the young man to guide me.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Location Unknown, June 1521

Somehow, I'd gotten myself into a swordfight. I don't want to sound immodest, but I'm pretty skilled with a blade. So, however, was my opponent. He was tall and lithe, with narrow eyes that studied my every move. I took a stab and he nimbly dodged, knocking me off my feet. I fell on my ankle and tried to get up as quickly as I could, but he wouldn't relent.

As I looked up at what I thought would be the last thing I saw, a bird with golden feathers flew overhead and I knew that I had to follow it. The pain in my leg had subsided and I felt a surge of energy, so I jumped up and took off after it. I scrambled onto the roof of a building so I wouldn't lose sight of it, and proceeded to jump from roof to roof in pursuit, my fencing partner having evidently given up on me.

Eventually I reached the end of the rows of houses and the bird turned back to look at me. If I could jump far enough, I thought, I might be able to grab it. I lunged, but the bird was gone and I was falling. The ground below me seemed to have disappeared, as well, replaced by a pool of water that seemed to glint green in the sunlight. I broke through the water and just kept falling down as it began to fill my lungs.

I coughed and sputtered as I opened my eyes. Liquid was trickling from my mouth. It tasted like sulfur or bad eggs and I coughed some more just to try and get rid of the taste. I realized several pairs of eyes were staring at me and I tensed up. "M-Miguel?" I asked aloud, my eyes darting around looking for his face.

"This 'Miguel', he is your golden-haired friend?" a voice spoke, and I was surprised that I could understand it. I snapped my head to the side to see an elderly man speaking to me.

"Who... how d... what's going on?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"My name is Bembé and I am a healer." said the man, "You can understand my words I hope?" I slowly nodded, " Good. That should make things much simpler. When your friend brought you here, you were dead." I flinched. _Dead?_ If that was the case, then wasn't I still...? "He left to gather some things for me so I could perform a ritual, but it looks as though there is no need now..." I was still trying to wrap my head around the 'dead' part, so it took a while for the rest of his words to sink in.

"Wait, Miguel is out there by himself?!" I sat up and realized that my shirt was gone and my wounds had been bandaged and treated. I wondered how long I'd been out, but I was more concerned with the fact that Miguel was out there with the snakes and who knew what else.

"He is not alone. He is with Pirro, our village's most skilled tracker." Bembé raised a hand to try and calm me down, but it didn't really help.

"Look, Bembé, I really appreciate your help, but Miguel - he has a way of getting himself and other people into trouble." I grimaced a little at the thought, "We need to go after him."

"You do not trust him with Pirro?" he looked confused, and possibly a little offended.

"No, no, I just don't trust _him_ not to get himself into a fix." I pinched the space between my eyebrows and sighed as I felt a headache coming on.

"That seems like a strange thing to say about your friend..."

"Ohhh, believe me, if you'd known Miguel as long as I have, you'd feel the same way. So while I appreciate the hospitality, I really have to..." As I tried to stand up I felt a sharp jolt of pain that started in my ankle and coursed through my whole body. "A-aaahh..." I fell back down.

"While you are doing much better, I'm afraid you are still in no condition to be moving around, my friend..." I realized that he didn't know my name.

"Tulio." I said, "My name's Tulio."

"Tulio, then... you cannot go after your friend. He will be back soon, I am sure. Rest, have something to eat. Focus on your recovery."

I was about to object when I realized I couldn't even remember the last time I'd eaten. "Y'know, that doesn't actually sound too bad..." I consented, my worries about Miguel becoming a dull nagging at the back of my mind.

While the water was apparently that disgusting rotten-eggs tasting liquid I'd had earlier, the food was amazing. It was some kind of seared fish, seasoned with fruit and spices, and it reminded me a little of Spain. Which, in turn, reminded me of Miguel who had still not come back. As if in response to my uneasiness, there was a rustling of bushes and a man appeared, gasping for breath.

Bembé approached the man and the two spoke in their own language, one I couldn't understand. The younger man kept gesturing toward the forest and I could tell by the way Bembé's eyes widened that whatever was going on was not good. I looked at the older man, expecting an answer.

"Pirro says that he and your friend got separated," my brow furrowed at that, "And that a fire has broken out in the underbrush." And at that, I slammed my hand down.

"Fire?! How?!" I was incredulous.

"We don't know..." the healer shook his head.

"Miguel is still out there!" I gestured wildly, "We have to do something!"

"You're still in no condition to-"

"I don't care! Just... give me a minute, I'll come up with a plan." I started reaching around for things to use as visuals, setting them up in front of me. Most of the villagers just stared at me like I was crazy, but Bembé looked curious, like he actually believed I could do something. I really hoped he wasn't wrong.

"Alright, so here's the fire..." I tapped the cup I'd been using, "And here's the village. And this is Miguel..." I stared at my setup, trying to will an idea into my head. There were still a lot of unknown variables. Where was the fire in proximity to the village? Where was Miguel? I didn't have a lot to work with, but... suddenly a plan started forming. It was crazy, dangerous, a long shot... but it was all I had.

After filling Bembé in on the details of my plan, he somewhat hesitantly agreed to help. He started assigning the villagers tasks, and while their initial responses were mostly shocked, the healer convinced them it would all work out. Pirro and some other villagers started fashioning makeshift waterskins, and I sat there in the middle of everything, worrying about Miguel and cursing the fact that I couldn't walk on my own.

"Are you ready?" Bembé asked. I wasn't, not entirely, but there wasn't any more time.

"As ready as I'll ever be..." I sighed. He helped me to my feet and supported my right side. I took two waterskins from Pirro and slung one over each shoulder, "Alright then..." Bembé gave me a boost onto Pirro's shoulders. It was a little awkward, but it'd have to work. I wasn't going to just sit around in the village while everyone else was out helping.

We made our way into the jungle. Pirro knew exactly where the fire was, fortunately. The first goal was to stop it spreading, and the other villagers were taking care of that. By burning the vegetation directly around the fire, it would have nowhere to spread. Of course, that also meant there would be more fires to put out, and that was why everyone had two waterskins.

By the time Pirro and I reached the fire, the rest of the village had done a fairly nice job of controlling it. That said, there was still a big blaze to put out and still no sign of Miguel. I had hoped one advantage of my higher vantage point would be being able to scan the area, but there was so much smoke it was almost impossible to see.

"Miguel?" I called out, hoping he'd be able to answer, but it was already hard for me to breathe with all the smoke and I could only hope he was still even conscious. Pirro threw one of his waterskins on the fire. It covered a lot of ground, but it sent up a lot of smoke and steam. I squinted, hoping to see something, anything, and then I noticed it. Something red caught on a tree branch. It was his shirt, but there was no Miguel. My eyes darted around the vicinity until they stopped on what looked like a body on the ground. The fire hadn't closed in on the area yet, but it was only a matter of time.

"Over there!" I nudged Pirro and pointed. He followed my finger and nodded, heading forward and throwing his other waterskin on the flames in our way. I threw one of mine at some encroaching flames, and soon enough we'd reached the base of the tree.

Miguel was barely conscious - he'd at least had the sense to conserve his breath by not talking - but he managed to sit up. He looked like he'd seen a ghost, which I suppose made sense since I was supposed to be dead. Pirro leaned down and scooped him up like it was nothing. I have no idea how he was able to support the weight of two adult men so effortlessly, but he quickly turned around to head back. Most of the fire was out now, and I still had the second waterskin ready to go.

We were almost back to the village, I had to keep my head down to avoid getting any more smoke in my face. So far everything had gone off pretty well. A little chaotic, maybe, but still successful. Suddenly, though, I heard something above me. I looked up to see a burning rock falling right toward us. I couldn't gauge the size or distance, but I knew it was going to be bad news if it hit. I hurled the waterskin at it and time seemed to slow down. The rock and water collided in the air, putting a stop to the fire, and I lost my balance and fell to the ground. The rock's trajectory, however, did not change and as time sped up again it made a beeline for the three of us.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Location Unknown, June 1521

I wasn't able to do anything. Everything up until now had been my fault. I'd suggested we take jobs aboard the ship, I hadn't been paying attention when Tulio saw the snake, and I'd gotten myself caught in the middle of a fire trying to save him only for him to come to my aid.

Well, this was my chance to make up for it. Tulio was unconscious after hitting his head when he fell from Pirro's shoulders, and Pirro was out after shielding me from that massive rock. I owed them both my life, but at the moment I only felt exhaustion. I managed to crawl out from under Pirro and sit up, but even that much took a great deal of effort.

The rock that had done it was still nearby. It was large and black and... kind of holey. I tried to push it only to realize it was lighter than I thought, but also much hotter. I recoiled, only to touch it again, curious. It was still very much hot, though, so I left it alone after that. I was at a loss for what to do. Unlike my partner, I wasn't all that skilled at thinking on my feet. I still needed a minute just to catch my breath. I was a little surprised no one had come looking for us, we'd been almost to the village when the rock hit.

"Alright..." I said, mostly to myself, as I managed to stand up. I knew I could at least carry Tulio, but Pirro was quite a bit bigger than me and I wasn't going to just leave him there. "Is anybody out there?" I called, but got no response. Not even the birds or frogs were making sound and it was incredibly eerie. Had something... worse happened? Whatever was worse than a wildfire caused by flaming, falling rocks, anyway.

Looking at the two unconscious men again made me all the more certain that I couldn't do this alone. I sighed and decided to do the only thing I could think of. I shook Tulio's shoulder; he didn't look quite as bad off as Pirro. It took a few good shoves, but he opened an eye and glared at me.

"You interrupted my beauty sleep." he deadpanned, and I was so relieved just to hear his voice and see that he was well enough to joke around that I burst out laughing. I nearly hit my head on a tree. Tulio shook his head and sat up, rubbing the back of his head, "So... what happened to everyone?"

"I've been wondering that myself..." I said, "I would've thought they'd come to help us." I said, nodding toward Pirro.

"Ooh..." Tulio winced, noticing the small amount of blood trickling from his head. "We'd better stop the bleeding and get him back to Bembé..." he forced himself to sit up and then tore a strip of fabric from the bottom of his trousers. It wasn't quite long enough, but he tried to wrap it around the wound, anyway. "It'll do for now..." he frowned, obviously unhappy with his handiwork but without any other real options.

"What about you?" Your leg... can you even walk on it?" Tulio lifted the poultice on his leg to have a peek.

"The bleeding's stopped and the swelling's gone down..." he said, "Only one way to find out." He reached a hand out to me expectantly and I helped pull him up, propping a hand against his back in case he lost his balance. He stepped lightly and slowly, taking one step and then another. "It... doesn't hurt anymore." He blinked, surprised, "Wow, that healer really knows his stuff."

"That's great!" I grinned wide. This was the best news I'd heard since we left Spain. "In that case, can you give me a hand with him?" I said, starting to slip one of Pirro's arms over my shoulder. Tulio nodded, taking his other arm. Even with both of us, Pirro was pretty heavy and we moved slowly, dragging his feet through the mud. "Tulio... I'm sorry about this whole thing. I'm sorry for almost getting you killed..." I sighed long and blew the hairs from my face, "More times than I can count..."

"Yeah. You better be." Tulio huffed, but when I looked at him I could tell he wasn't as mad as he was acting, "Next time, I'm making the travel arrangements." I chuckled as we entered the village.

The place was barren. Things had been left nearly the way they had been when I'd last been there, but there were no people. Anywhere. I looked over at Tulio, and he was frowning. Something was wrong. He motioned toward one of the tents, so we headed over, still dragging Pirro.

"What's going on?" I whispered once we got inside, feeling the need to be as quiet as possible.

"I have no clue, but it can't be good..." he whispered back, easing Pirro's arm off his shoulder as I helped him lay the other man down.

"So... what's the plan?" I asked expectantly. He shot me a tired eyeroll.

"I'm still working on it..." he said, and after a few minutes of thought he stood up. "I need to get some air, clear my head..." and he walked out of the tent. I wasn't sure if that meant he wanted to be alone, so for a moment I stayed put, but it was a little unnerving sitting next to an unconscious man, so I headed out after him.

"Any luck?" I asked, although he'd barely gone out and wouldn't have come up with something that quickly. Tulio shook his head and this time I sighed, "I don't understand it... how could everybody just disappear?" I looked around for clues, but the first thing to catch my attention was a small spring of water, almost hidden out of sight. I suddenly realized how very thirsty I was, what with the fire and the running around the jungle. I headed over and scooped up a handful.

"Miguel, I..." Tulio started as I took several large gulps, "... wouldn't drink that if I were you." and then immediately choked on it as the taste of rotten eggs hit me full force. I had already swallowed, but I started gagging. Tulio smirked a little.

"What the _**devil**_ was that?!" I asked, looking to him for an explanation. He looked more than pleased with himself.

"Hey, I had to drink it, too. Apparently all the water here tastes like that." He shrugged. I made a face, highlighting my disgust. Then Tulio tapped me on the shoulder and pointed at something. "Look at that. Do those look like footprints to you?" I followed his hand to some marks in the dirt.

"Yes." I nodded, "D'you think the villagers went off that way?"

"Maybe... I guess there's only one way to find out..." Tulio said, frowning. He clearly didn't want to follow them, but it was all we had to go on.

"What about Pirro?" I asked, looking toward the tent he was resting in. Tulio looked over then back, weighing our options.

"We'll... we'll just have to leave him here and hope for the best. We can't just carry him around like that... I'm sure he'll be fine..." the last sentence hadn't sounded too confident, but I decided to trust my friend.

"Alright..." I nodded, "So do you have a plan? Do we need anything?"

"Well..." Tulio hesitated, looking around, "Let's at least grab some provisions. I think there's some food in the healer's tent. Other than that, we should be good. Just follow my lead and remember - we run at the first sign of trouble."

"Right." I nodded as we raided the tent. We used some of the leftover hide for the waterskins to make a bag and stuffed as much fruit into it as we could. Then, after checking on Pirro again to make sure he was okay, we set out.

Tulio took the lead, following the trail of footprints. They followed a path out of the village and alongside a rock wall, lush plant life on the other side.. The path sloped down from dirt to cool rock, but the prints were dirty and still visible. The further on we went, the cooler it got and after a while we could hear running water somewhere. The path took a bend and there was a small waterfall running into a shallow pool. Mist sprayed off the rocks at us and it felt somewhat soothing.

"Deja vu..." I murmured as I looked from the waterfall to Tulio. He nodded, returning the sentiment.

"Well, partner..." he hesitated, frowning just enough for me to notice, "Here we go again." He took a step forward and put a hand through the curtain of water. "There's a path here..." he said, not sounding the least bit surprised. We nodded at each other and then headed through.

Behind the waterfall was a large cavern with a path that made a wide spiral down. Keeping our hands on the wall, we slowly continued down - a misstep could lead to us falling to our deaths. The sound of the water was deafening, echoing off the walls. Light filtered in from a gaping hole high above, at the very top of the cavern. It felt like we'd been walking for hours, but the sun's position hadn't changed much so it must not have actually been that long. Not much later, we began to hear voices. They were faint and indistinct, but still there.

A bit farther down, and we could see figures. They were standing around something and talking amongst themselves. When we got close enough to have a good view, Tulio motioned for me to duck and we hid behind a grouping of rocks. The villagers were there, and in the middle of them were several stone mechanisms with wheels and levers. A few people were operating them while the others watched and spoke with each other.

"Tulio, what do you think they're doing?" I whispered.

"Well..." he squinted, "They're obviously doing something..." Just then, one of the men stepped away from the group and headed toward us. We ducked down as far as we could, but he walked directly over until he was close enough to see us. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"I'm glad to see you two are safe... Tell me... where is Pirro?" came a familiar voice, one I could understand.

"Bembé?" I heard the faintest squeak in Tulio's voice.

"I'm sorry we were not able to warn you, but we had an emergency." Bembé looked back toward the mechanisms and the two of us sat up. It was pointless to continue hiding.

"What... is this place? What's going on?" I asked, but shook my head to remind myself of the more important issue. "Pirro! Pirro's hurt, he hit his head..." Bembé's eyes grew wide with concern.

"He should be safe, we took him back to the village and wrapped his wound..." Tulio attempted to calm the healer down.

"All the same, I would like to check on him. Would you come with me? The others should be fine..." We nodded and Bembé said something to one of the villagers. They called out to the others as Bembé waved and we started the climb back out of the cavern.

The trip was all uphill and so much harder. Tulio and I had to keep stopping to catch our breath. Bembé was patient, but clearly anxious to make sure Pirro was alright. "So... what was happening down there?" I asked, gesturing toward the bottom of the hill.

"We're protecting the island from intruders." Bembé said. Tulio and I both laughed nervously. "Oh, do not worry. The two of you are fine, we would not turn away those in need of help."

"Why do you need to protect the island?" Tulio asked, "Have you... had problems in the past?"

"Yes... and many of our neighbors have had trouble with these so-called explorers. We do not wish to meet the same fate, so we have taken measures to steer their course away from here." Bembé frowned. There was a silence until we reached the village. We directed Bembé to the tent were Pirro was still lying unconscious. He rushed in and quickly knelt next to the younger man. "My son..." he began to cry and Tulio and I thought we should give them some privacy.

"When he said 'son', do you think he meant...?" I asked once we were out of earshot.

"Based on how he was acting, I'd say so..." Tulio nodded.

"Why do you suppose they're so concerned about protecting the island?" Tulio saw the glint of curiosity in my eye and immediately shot me down.

"I dunno, maybe because they've seen how conquistadors treat natives? Hell, how they treat _anyone_. We know that well enough, it only makes sense..."

"You have a point..." I nodded with a small shudder, partly from not-so-pleasant memories partly from cold. The wind had picked up just a bit. Bembé came out of the tent and headed toward us. "How's Pirro?" I asked as Tulio and I both turned anxiously toward him.

"He will be alright in time." Bembé smiled, relief overwhelmingly obvious in his voice, "I thank you for taking care of him."

"We barely did anything." Tulio shook his head, "He's saved our skin plenty of times since we got here. Speaking of which..." he paused, choosing his words as if he were nervous about offending Bembé, "Is there any safe way to leave the island?"

Bembé returned the cautious look, "Where exactly do you plan to go?"

"We... won't tell anyone, we won't bring anyone else here, I can promise you that. We're... sort of fugitives..." Tulio could tell right away why the healer was concerned.

"He's right. You've been so kind to us, we'd never wish any harm on you. We just want to go..." I looked at my partner to make sure we were on the same page, "Back home."

He nodded, "We don't belong here, I don't think we could survive here... It's really in everyone's best interests that we leave."

"If that is the case, I believe we can help you, but it may be...a difficult journey home for you." Bembé said. As if all our journeys up until now hadn't been.

"We'll do it." we said in near unison.


End file.
